After a more than 24 hour day, I finally feel caught up on my sleep and ready to take on Dublin! Getting off the plane confirmed my expectations of how we would be treated as tourists in Ireland. We were greeted with smiling faces from the CAPA staff and shown kindness all throughout the airport. Even in the tourist saturated bars and restaurants, we were still treated with kindness . The bus ride back to the apartment was filled with playful banter between the CAPA staff and bus driver as they pointed out unique stops along the way. I think we were all surprised to see the amount of YES/NO signs occupying almost every telephone pole on the way home. Most of us were aware of the referendum going on but I don’t think we realized how prevalent it was to all Dubliners. This just supported what we learned in class about their political climate; they seem to be much more involved in politics than the general American. I wouldn’t be surprised to overhear conversations about it in local bars or between students and I won’t be surprised if I am asked my opinions on the matter as well!

Susanne, another one of our CAPA coordinators, also gave us a great insight into doing business in Ireland. We often spoke about the much more friendly, conversational aspect of Irish business when compared to the more rigid, serious tone of U.S. business and it was very clear that this will be important for us moving forward with our site visits. Susanne mentioned that even things as simple as asking coworkers questions without starting the conversation off with a polite “How are you?” can be very rude; it is an expectation to start with polite conversation with a friendly greeting before diving right in. I think that in the US, we sometimes view these greetings as frivolous or time-wasting and value getting down to business, getting in and out, as soon as possible. We will have to keep this at the forefront of our minds during our site visits and interactions in Ireland to start the relationship between ourselves and our Irish counterparts strong. Another thing I have already learned from Hayley, a proud Dubliner, is the flexibility of schedules in Ireland. We were eager to get our schedule and get moving but we soon learned that we will have to take a step back and go with the flow throughout the day. I think this will be a great lesson for us in being adaptable and dealing with change on the fly. I’m excited to see all the little nuances that we pick up on during our time in Dublin!